[Mach2]

Drove to San Diego, CA., last Thursday morning to visit the kids and grandkids before I start physical therapy for right shoulder replacement surgery last month. Left Henderson, NV., with 1281 miles on the clock. 322 miles to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station (formerly Miramar Naval Air Station) where I stay at the Miramar Inn. Daughter, Son in Law and Grandson live in Santee just north of El Cajon and Son, Daughter in Law and Granddaughter live in Escondido north of Miramar. About 150 miles while in San Diego and 322 miles back home to Henderson Sunday am. 793 mile round trip with 644 freeway miles. Got 26 mpg going down to Miramar and 25.7 coming back from Miramar today. 75 mph @ 2300 rpm, 54 psi oil, 215 oil temp. Depending how I drive around town I get between 14 - 16 mpg street and now 26 mpg freeways. Not too bad for 2074 total miles. Will take it in Wed for an oil @ filter change, have them check the intake manifold bolts for 105 in lb torque and top off the red coolant. I drove home today in Sport mode and liked that if I needed to pass a car I just barely pushed the throttle down and it down shifted. This is preferred to driving in non Sport mode and having to STEP on the throttle to shift down.

I really enjoy this R/T Classic 5 speed auto trans with Super Track Pack. Missed out on the Hemi R/T Challenger back in 1970-71 due to being an E-5 in the Navy, married with 2 kids. I sure dreamed of having one though. This time I didn't miss the 2nd iteration of the Hemi R/T Challenger. I saw a number of Challengers during the trip, but only one other Header Orange Challenger and it was a Shaker with the black stripes down the hood, top and trunk. I saw 3 R/T Challenger Classics that were orange, but a very reddish shade of orange. Was that Hemi Orange? 2009-10 Hemi Orange or was it a shade of red??? I waved at every Challenger I saw going the other way, and one blue R/T Challenger Classic with black R/T stripes going the same direction I was. Got a wave back from the blue Classic and one other Classic going the other way. Sure would like to see the Challenger Wave be more common among us Challenger owners and drivers.

 

[Go Goody]

Thanks for serving, sharing and waving!

 

[Cuda]

Cool, good chance I'll be taking a 5k+ trip out west from Alabama in my R/T around Sept., I want to do some mountain road carving and general sightseeing.

 

[shaker1192]

Glad you got what you wanted. Good luck with you PT!

Out of curiosity, where did you see the orange Shaker? Might have been me, as I'm in the same neighborhood as your daughter and son in law, it seems.

 

[Hal H]

the more you drive, the more qualities you discover.

Honestly, some of the threads where an owner has the car for a few years and has say maybe 2k-3k miles...they barely have experienced what its like to drive these LX/LC/LD cars and experience what they can offer.

They are great daily drivers, fun for those weekend romps, trips to the track, and for long drives...its not a one-trick pony.

I took mine on 620 - 650mi (one way) drives in one day...at these cars just "get it done" and you're not worn out, numb butt or leg cramping after 10-11 hours on the road.

Usually its restroom breaks and meal stops that are necessary. I've racked up 490-502mi on a tank of all freeway driving when the low fuel light kicks on during those 65-75 mph runs. [6-speed manual]

The old cars you could do 3-4 hours at a time and had to get out, walk around and let the feeling return to your backside and lower legs, not to mention more frequent fuel stops. And that was with seat foam that wasn't broken down from years of use (I've had seat foams rebuilt when it got to that point).

Enjoy your ride...

 

[Putter]

I'm really looking forward to a +4K miles trip beginning in about two weeks. Big loop to GA across to AZ and back to IN. Drives through the dessert and Smoky and Rocky mountains should be wonderful. Going to be a real test of the MPG. Hoping to really open in up a couple times too.

 

[Mach2]

Out of curiosity, where did you see the orange Shaker? Might have been me, as I'm in the same neighborhood as your daughter and son in law, it seems.

Saw it around 10:30 this morning southbound on I-15 near Yermo, north of Barstow.

Something else I forgot to mention, just how comfortable the seats are in my R/T Classic. Have a lingering sciatica nerve issue in the lower right hand back and back of the right thigh. I turned the driver side seat heater on today and it calmed down the pinch. :woot:

 

[jsd512]

Neither the Mustang nor Camaro can road trip like a Challenger, period. It is a road trip king. I will be doing a short road trip before I go back to school.

 

[Roody]

Glad it went well! Doing my first Challenger road trip in the beginning of next month, can't wait to let it stretch its legs and remind me why I bought it and not a Ford/Chevy.